Arago: 1989 World Stamp Expo Souvenir Sheet

A $3.60 imperforate souvenir sheet celebrating WORLD STAMP EXPO '89 was issued November 17, 1989, the first day of the exhibition, at the Washington, DC, Convention Center.

World Stamp Expo '89, the first international philatelic exhibition directly sponsored by the US Postal Service in its 214-year history, took place November 17-20 and November 24-December 3. It was held in conjunction with the 20th Congress of the Universal Postal Union.

The WORLD STAMP EXPO Souvenir Sheet features four reproductions of the 90-cent Lincoln stamp issued in 1869. The sheet contains a version of the stamp as it appeared originally and three trial color proofs. In 1869, the 90-cent Lincoln stamp was the highest value US stamp. As of November, 1989, ninety cents met the 1-ounce rate for international airmail.

After George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln has appeared more often on US postage stamps than any other person. The portrait reproduced on this sheet appeared on the first Lincoln stamp issued April 15, 1866, the first anniversary of this death. Based on an 1861 photograph of the president, the 1866 stamp was framed in black and was generally known as a mourning stamp.

This is the first souvenir sheet issued by the Postal Service since the one commemorating the Sixth International Philatelic Exhibition in 1966. Designed by Richard D. Sheaff, the stamps were printed by the Bureau of the Engraving and Printing in the offset/intaglio process (D Press).